The 2020 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach has been canceled for next month.
Per a city announcement on Thursday, March 12, the race, which was originally scheduled for April 19, is the latest in a series of changes, postponements, and cancelations across the motorsports community due to COVID-19, also known coronavirus.
Organizers were forced to pull the plug on the event after Long Beach city officials barred large gatherings of 250 people or more across the city until April 30.
“We recognize that this decision affects tens of thousands of residents and visitors, and for some will create immense financial hardship,” Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “But our top priority must be the health and well-being of our community and this is absolutely the right thing to do.”
The Grand Prix of Long Beach is the second IndyCar race to be affected by the coronavirus so far, joining the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which has barred spectators from its event later this month.
An immediate timetable for the resumption of regular IndyCar events has not been disclosed.
As Long Beach only barred events through April 30, it’s possible the race could be rescheduled for later in the year.
Never at a loss for words, Zach Gillispie is a young, talented marketing professional from North Carolina who talks and writes on the side about his first love: racing! Since joining Frontstretch in 2018, Zach has served in numerous roles where he currently pens the NASCAR 101 column, a weekly piece delving into the basic nuts and bolts of the sport. Additionally, his unabashedly bold takes meshed with that trademarked dry wit of his have made Zach a fan favorite on the weekly Friday Faceoff panel. In his free time, he can be found in the great outdoors, actively involved in his church, cheering on his beloved Atlanta Braves or ruthlessly pestering his colleagues with completely useless statistics about Delma Cowart.
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